Day of the Dead

 

Stuart and I had a weekend away this last weekend.  A band we like, Rodrigo y Gabriella, were playing a "Day of the Dead" celebration in the Old Vic Tunnels, under Waterloo station in London.  So children went to Nanny's house, with much excitement, and Stuart and I boarded a train to start our adventure. 

 

 

After arriving at the hotel, we went exploring, to find our way to the venue.  The entrance was down a tunnel full of grafitti.  I think people were encouraged to use this tunnel rather than anywhere else, so every spare bit of wall was covered, and there was quite an aroma of paint!!

 

On our way back to the hotel we discovered a Cuban bar, so thought this was a good way to get into the Latino spirit, even better as it was Happy Hour!!

 Not really knowing what to expect, I had decided to get into the whole feel for Day of the Dead, and dressed up as a skeleton bride, with a sugar skull face paint effect too.  I did feel slightly daft when walking about amongst everyone else who was dressed normally, at least with all that face paint on, no-one could see me blushing!  Stuart did try the face paint, but it didn't really go with his beard!

 Well, once we were there, it was amazing!!  The tunnels were so atmospheric, very dimly lit, and rather spooky. There was free mexican food, which was delicious.  And a rather nice Mexican cocktail with lime and jasmine in, which was all too easy to drink!

 This tunnel is where the food was served, and where the concert was held.

 There were sculptures around the place.  This donkey was made up of tiny little bronze figures.

 Amazing!!

 There were lots of candles, and eerily lit places.

 We were fortunate to be able to meet up with friends too, which made it even more special.

 More candles...

 Other people dressed up (so I didn't feel completely silly!)

 And the highlight of the evening... Rodrigo y Gabriella.  The most talented guitarists ever!!

A fabulous evening, topped off with breakfast in Covent Garden the following day.  Magical, really a wonderful weekend.

What are the chances of that?

A few months ago, a blogging friend Becks over at KnitSewHooked did a little post about some blogs she was liking.  One of those was mine (I felt very honoured) and another one was Lucy 'in the sky'.  I went over and checked out her blog and immediately thought that there were alot of similarities in the things that we liked.  Spinning, crochet, gardening, keeping chickens, we had boys of a similar-ish age, etc  the list seemed endless, and it soon became one of my favourite blogs.

So imagine my excitement when I realised she was relatively local.  Then imagine my surprise when I realised she was most likely in the same town.  I eventually plucked up the courage to contact her, and we actually live about 3 miles away from each other!!  What are the chances of that, that somebody who lives over a hundred miles away ends up introducing (unbeknownst to her) two bloggers from thee same town?

Lucy and I met up this last Thursday.  1 1/2 hours just isn't long enough when you are both enthusiastic about the same things!  Mind you, conversation was rather disjointed when Sophie decided she was needing me to play witches with the big cardboard box house!

Lucy came bearing gifts...

...some seeds for Sophie and I and a short story book all about knitting and other woolly things!  We have already had imaginary seeds sown all around the cardboard house, and wonderful sunflower garden spring up in the lounge!  Oh, how I wish my imagination was as great as Sophie's!  And the book is perfect.  I can read a whole story in the short time between getting into bed and falling asleep!

Thank you Lucy for a wonderful afternoon, and look forward to our adventures together.

Seven Days of Half Term

 The week started with a visit from a friend we have been trying to meet up with for a while.  Car problems and mid-day pre-school runs meant that we had very little time to travel and meet up, so we eventually managed it on the first day of half term. So lovely to catch up and see the younger children play so well together.

By Tuesday we had a car back.  So after dropping Stan and Stuart's brother off at the train station in Birmingham for a little adventure of their own, we went to visit the BBC studio at The Mailbox. There we could have a go at presenting the news, or the weather forecast or a bit of Newsround. Very difficult, and we got some rather funny results, as we saw when we played back what we had recorded.

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 We gave the big car a bit of a spruce up.  After it had been used for Stuart's daily commute along the motorway, it was looking decidedly salty, so we restored it to it's original black colour.  Sophie, when asked to clean the wheels, cleaned the tyres, well that will teach me for not being specific enough!!

 Wednesday was a day of utter chaos!  9 children running riot in the house!  Luke had a friend over to play WarMachine.  Alec had a friend over because we had been promising him for a long time that he could have this lad over.  Ethan had a friend over as he was feeling left out, and we got joined by the boys from next door too!  I made a batch of scones using the scone mix I got the other week.  17 scones lasted all of about an hour or two!

Thursday saw Sophie decide to make a house out of a box.  It had windows, a door, and later in the day curtains.

 It got played with by anyone (or thing) that could fit in it!  Sophie was very disappointed that I could not fit in it, and to be honest, so was I!

 By later in the week it was becoming more and more tatty, but still played with!  I am actually amazed at how many people could fit in it.  I found Alec and Ethan using it as a bit of a retreat with the iPad for entertainment!

Another, pretty much, home-based half term, but that is just how we like it! 

Joining in with Jacqui again with a review of the week.

Just a reminder, feel free to enter the giveaway .  Closing date is 22nd February.

Seven Days

Joining Jacqui aka "The Barefoot Crofter" with a review of the last seven days.  Because even when you think nothing special is happening, if you look closely enough you find it! 

After last week was very much an out of the house kind of week, this week has been more home based.  Monday whilst getting very cold walking back from the shops I stopped to put Sophie's gloves on her for the umpteenth time, and happened to stop outside a friend of my Mum's house.  She saw us and invited us in to warm up.  Sophie got to play with her grandson, and we had a lovely impromptu chat.  This happened again on Tuesday, calling in to a friend, just to check her daughter was ok, after seeing her daughter very distressed earlier, and another cup of coffee and a lovely chat.  It really made my week.

Other lovliness that has been happening...

...finishing off the bag for the three little pigs

...catching Sophie making shadow puppets whilst eating her lunch... 

 ...having the time (and ingredients) to be able to make Sophie's demand for chocolate cake a reality...

 ...whilst I was at Guild, Sophie had popcorn, I do hope she shared it!

 A big package of woolly goodness (if a little dirty) arriving in the post, with the promise of endless amounts of dyeing and spinning.  Thank you Dawn!

 And more little knitted animals, this time the Billy Goats Gruff. Awaiting the arrival of the troll, and a bag, so that they too can make their way to their new home.

Looking forward to the week ahead, which I think will  be a good mix of home and out and about. But I guess we will just have to wait and see what it brings.

Seven Days

Celebrating the ordinary that makes up our week.  Joining in with Jacqui at Barefoot Crofter.

* trip to the park with neighbours from the present and the past. 
* a working dishwasher, oh the relief!!
* play tent for the children, don't be daft, they're made for cats don't you know!
* just one of those moments
* needing cake, feeling virtuous with the gluten free flour, best not mention the cocoa Sophie insisted on adding, and the chocolate spread I thought would enhance the overall effect.  Very nice they were too!
*Beginning to get Christmas-sy with my first attempt at Christmas cake
* Making Christmas cards, with contributions from Luke, Alec, Ethan and myself.

Thank you again Jacqui for this opportunity to celebrate normal, everyday life.

Whaddya reckon?

 Meet Gimli and the siamese cat from up the road.  6 months separates them, and they are best buddies.  This is the scene this morning.

"What do you think is down there?  It smells interesting."

 "I'll check out this other one while you and Sophie-cat keep on with this one"

 "I'm fed up, I'll go and check out those magpies on the green"

 "Darn, they flew away!  Back again, these things not moved yet?"

Bless them, they were there at 8.45am when we were walking up to school, and they are still there at 9.50am!  How long do you think they'll be there?  And what conclusions will they draw?

Feeling Frugal

 A trip to the allotment this afternoon gave me this haul!  I had an hour down there, and the whole hour I was harvesting things (there were three plums and a strawberry too, but they got eaten by a certain fruit monster that accompanied me!)  Luke asked me this afternoon how much the allotment cost for the year.  It's £30, and this was really brought home to me today what a saving it is, as we are growing things organically, compare just todays haul with the organic fruit box and veg box we got delivered today for the same price as a year at the allotment!  So not only was I feeling pleased with myself for the amount of produce brought home today (especially given the neglect the allotment has suffered this year), but also very pleased about the money saved.

Combine this with a lovely trip to a charity shop this morning.  Sophie was at pre-school (she has settled in amazingly well!) and I was due to meet up with a friend for us to do some crocheting, however it was such a lovely day she suggested we walk up to this charity shop.  Well, I found some real treasures, a basket of crochet cotton (basket and all!), more cotton thread of the variegated kind, a skirt, jigsaw puzzle and some books, all for £5!

A lovely day from start to finish!

So much to share

For ages I have been meaning to do an update on Gimli.  He gave us a scare a few weeks ago with a suspected bout of intussuseption, which is where the intestine telescopes inside itself causing a blockage.  The vet could have left hom for 24 hours to see how things panned out, but if it was intussuseption then it could have made him so weak he wouldn't survive the op, so we had to have an emergency operation for him.  Thankfully it wasn't as serious as we feared, but he still had an operation to recover from.  He has well and truly recovered from it, and us up to all kinds of michief.  He discovered the fish the other day, he thinks the chickens are great to play 'chase' with.  He likes the new windchimes in the conservatory (this picture was when we were supposed to be limiting his movements after the op, try telling that to a kitten!)

 He is so good with the children, Sophie spent the whole afternoon pushing him around in the basket under her pushchair!

 Now he is allowed outside, he is investigating all the neighbours houses, and many trees, as well as standing his ground with cats that have been in the area much longer than he has!!

Other things...

I thought I'd got a picture of this, but it must have been on Alec's camera, but back in April Alec and I saw a parrot type bird in the back garden early one morning.  A beautiful bird, green, with a blue tail and red beak.  I didn't think anything else of it until recently when I kept hearing this unusual bird call.  I saw the bird the other morning, and it is the same bird!!  I think we have identified it as a ring-necked parakeet, which can apparently survive British winters, so hopefully this one will, and will have a long free life.  I must try and get a piccie of it if I can ever lure it close enough!

Remember a couple of weeks ago, Alec had buried his nose in a book?  Well, thanks to Laura, we managed to pick up some more in the series of a diary of a wimpy kid, at a knock down price.  The books arrived yesterday, Alec is about 20 pages from the end of the next book.  He even woke in the middle of the night and did some reading (he thought it was later than it was, and when realised how early it was he went back to sleep!)

 And yesterday I went shopping with a lovely friend to a fabric shop.  I know I don't need any more fabric, it literally falls out the wardrobe when I open the door, but I really could not resist this.  I think I may have bought enough to make a summer dress with it, so I think it will be a project for the spring!  It was a real eye-opener going into Birmingham, I haven't been in for a long time, and many places are unrecogniseable to me.  Sophie made me smile by asking to see the yellow tractors, by the end of it she did call them diggers, but I suppose she's more used to tractors than diggers around here!  It was truly a lovely day, I never really see shopping as a pleasure, but it really was, I guess it must have been the good company (and only one child to keep track of!)

Adventures in sourdough

Back in June we got given Herman. If you have never heard of Herman,let me explain.  Herman is a sourdough friendship cake, which you have to nurture over the course of a week and a half.  He is fuelled by sugar, flour and milk, along with yeast that he has picked up on his travels.  At the end of the process you have a cake to bake, and starters to pass on to friends. 

 We have loved having Herman with us, but it is time for him to move on now, as there really is only so much cake you can eat, and my waistline is slowly expanding!!  I wish I could have passed him on to many of my friends online, but it would be a very messy parcel that arrived in the post, as he does not like to be confined!!  However, our Herman has travelled to Wales,and down to London, and has quiite a few off-spring in  our local area too!

One of his off-spring then underwent a spectacular transformation in the capable hands of our friend Paul, and has returned to us as a starter for Sourdough bread. Sourdough bread is something I have wanted to try to make for a long time. So I made my first loaf last night.

I think the verdict is out on it at the moment.  A lovely tasty bread, but makes very heavy sandwiches.  Would be great for rolls for soup, or as a dipping bread, but we tend not to use that kind of bread very much.  It is a shame, as I really hoped we would enjoy sourdough bread more.  Although, I was wondering how I was going to fit in all the little things you have to to it over the course of 24 hours to get your loaf!  I have been spoilt with my bread maker I think!

Thank you Herman for letting us join you on your adventures.

Handmade

 Last year I bought some wool, a bit of a cheating kind of wool that would give a Fair Isle effect.  My plan for this wool was some wristwarmers for me.  But as usual, projects for me never seem to happen!  So, having been given a little money for my birthday, I decided to treat myself and buy some wrist warmers from a dear friend in Ireland. 

 Rosemary, over at Selkie Crochet, has filled her etsy shop full of all kinds of woolly wonderful-ness, and I know she spends so much time by the sea, the thought of some of her creations being made whilst sat watching the Atlantic Ocean role in, is really quite peaceful. I am looking forward to the days getting cooler so that I have an excuse to wear these beautiful wrsitwarmers.

Another wonderful friend provided Sophie's birthday card.  Shell over at Handmade Haven had some owl cards that I fell in love with the moment I saw them. I also got a wedding card, but as the wedding hasn't taken place yet I felt it unfair to blog it! She has so many wonderful things for sale, a multi-talented woman.

 I suppose, as we start looking towards the end of the year, and dare I mention it, Christmas, we start looking for gifts for people.  I know, whilst I am hoping to be able to create many myself, I know there are wonderful talented people out there that will be able to help provide gorgeous gifts for you to give, and help us all to work towards a simpler, homemade festive period.

Thank you Rosemary and Shell, your talents are very much appreciated.